G20 digital process: Trust requires more transparency and inclusion

Mitchell Baker August 1, 2018

We commend the Argentine G20 Presidency for continuing to build momentum around the G20 digital process and look forward to seeing the Declaration and the progress made to that end following the Digital Ministerial on August 24.

However, we can’t ignore the lack of transparency and the step back from multistakeholder engagement that was championed under last year’s G20 Presidency by Germany. Mozilla appreciated the invitation to attend the G20-B20 workshops on July 30, which allowed for providing input into the Digital Declaration. But inviting pre-selected organisations to an unofficial side event on comparatively short notice is not sufficient for a meaningfully transparent and inclusive process.

Assuming responsibility in the digital age also means that governments have to cater to the complexities of existing and upcoming challenges by including different stakeholders for their expertise and various experiences.

We cannot reinstate trust in the development of our digital societies if we close the doors to meaningful engagement and inclusive participatory processes.

Faro Digital, ITS Rio, and Mozilla reiterate as part of a much broader coalition of 80 stakeholders from across the world that a positive, forward-looking digital agenda must support a healthy web ecosystem and put people and their individual rights first, by providing meaningful access, strong privacy and data protection rights, freedom of expression, collaborative cybersecurity, and increased competition.